Neymar and Kevin De Bruyne will meet in Friday night’s box-office quarter-final in Kazan, but the two superstars are linked by something other than that. They are the only two players in the World Cup to have created more chances than Kieran Trippier.
“Not bad for a Bury lad,” as Trippier put it.
Trippier has been England’s best player in Russia after Harry Kane, his speed and incision down the right being one of the most important parts of Gareth Southgate’s 3-5-2 system. He provides the width in open play, as he does for Tottenham, and also has proven himself England’s best set-piece taker. Neither Panama nor Tunisia could ever come to terms with his corners.
The quality of Trippier’s delivery from the right has even earned comparisons with David Beckham. Trippier revealed on Thursday how much he used to look up to the former England captain, especially in the way that he would strike the ball.
“I used to watch Beckham and Andrea Pirlo,” Trippier revealed on Thursday afternoon. “Players like that, they had a fantastic right foot on them, everyone knows that. Beckham was the one I always looked up to. The technique, his crossing, on the move or set pieces. He is the one I used to look up to on crossing the ball.”
When Trippier was a youngster in the old Manchester City academy at Platt Lane, he would often play as a right winger and used to work tirelessly to perfect that particular skill.
“My delivery is something I always used to work on,” Trippier said. “Me and Steve Eyre the coach at Manchester City used to stay behind for ages, after more or less every session. You can always improve on everything, really, and crossing was the one I really wanted to work on. There is a lot of room for improvement for everybody, no matter who you are, so that is all I did really: practice. Literally near enough every day after training, we used to stay out and practice and practice. There are a lot of people I need to thank for my journey to get here, and Steve is one on them.”
Here in Russia, at the age of 27, Trippier’s sharpened delivery is being put to better use than anyone could have hoped. Southgate has even built a system that includes two right-backs, Trippier and Kyle Walker, to make the most of both Trippier’s delivery and Walker’s speed.
“The formation is perfect for me,” Trippier said. “I can get forward as much as I can and try to get the crosses in and help my team as much as I can. If I manage to help them I am delighted.”
Combined with the advice of coach Allan Russell on England’s clever set plays, Trippier has made himself one of England’s most unexpected weapons in Russia - especially as the set plays evolve to meet the threats of different teams.
“It comes from Alan and the staff here,” Trippier said. “It depends on who you are playing too because you see Colombia, we changed our set pieces a bit because they have got big lads. And Panama are good in the air. It depends. It’s mainly just practising in different areas, putting mannequins in the way on the training field. Just practice really and being consistent.”
